Anna Rae Anna Rae's signature style combines melodic bass guitar with soaring vocals and gut-wrenching lyricism: pleading, spare, offering comfort and an honest appraisal. Her new EP demonstrates her ongoing experiment of pushing the bass guitar beyond it's typical role and exploring its rich voicing and range, in the context of a band. She draws on a folk-rock background with influence from underground indie pop, punk, blues, and rock. Her songs are at once self-reflective and universal, and her open, honest and humorous performance invites audiences to reflect on their own interpretations and enjoy an unusual soundscape. www.annaraesound.com

Slant of LightWith a focus on three-part harmonies, Slant of Light incorporates guitar, banjo, and stand-up bass to create a progressive folk sound that draws upon influences both classic and new. Slant of Light returns to the Lizard Lounge on Thursday, May 29th to release their third full-length record, Fruition, on special edition 12" 45 RPM vinyl. This ten-song record features all original folk music and special guest violinist Jenée Morgan Force (Kingsley Flood), who will be joining the band for their performance. With a strong practice regimen and an entertaining on-stage rapport, Slant of Light delivers a tight and emotionally charged performance every time they step on stage. www.slantoflight.com

Hayley Jane and the PrimatesHayley Jane and the Primates deliver a genre-bending sound that is hard to define and a live performance that has started to create a serious buzz in the Northeast. The Primates' music draws inspiration from a variety of styles, including 60s/70s rock and pop, old musical theater, folk, blues, soul, reggae, psychedelic, funk, bluegrass, and country. Their catchy songs have been praised by a wide range of music lovers for successfully combining a diverse sound with clever, over-the-top lyrics and Vaudevillian style storytelling. However you decide to categorize the Primates musically, their on-stage energy, skilled musicianship, theatrics, and group improvisation will take you over a landscape of emotion that will leave you wanting more. www.hayleyjaneandtheprimates.com